Lord's security to be robust

Cricket: A senior England cricket executive met officials from the MCC yesterday to discuss security measures for the triangular one-day series final between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's on Saturday.

Spectators are unlikely to be faced with the sort of temporary fencing introduced at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, despite the pitch invasions which marked three of Pakistan's qualifying matches there and earlier at Edgbaston and Headingley.

But there will be a robust search procedure with particular emphasis on confiscating the sort of fireworks that caused Steve Waugh to take his side from the field on Tuesday evening, and an increased number of stewards and police.

England and Australia play the final `dead' group match today at The Oval.

Sailing: Fresh from his victory in the 1720 National Championship at Kinsale Yacht Club last weekend, Mark Mansfield proved his natural form at Kiel Week in Germany yesterday when he scored a 10th place in the opening race of the Star class.

Racing with William Collins, the pair are one of two Irish campaigns aiming for the single place on a potential Irish squad for the Athens 2004 Olympics. The second crew, Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks, are not attending this event.

One of the largest ever Irish contingents is competing at Kiel Week this year. A host of young talent is being blooded at this series, one of three massive Olympic classes Eurolymp circuit events.

Of the others, Tom Fitzpatrick with Fraser Brown had a very encouraging opening day to finish 17th overall in the demanding 49er Skiff fleet scoring a 4-213 out of more than 80 crews. Aaron O'Grady scored the best of the Irish Finns single-handers with a 17th in their single race of the day.

Cycling: 1998 National Champion Ray Clarke proved best at the end of yesterday's Stephen Roche Grand Prix in Dundrum, outsprinting Philip Cassidy and Shane Prendergast in the final 300 metres of the race. The trio had gone clear on the 10th of 26 laps around the Meadowmount circuit and despite bridging efforts by riders such as Brian Lennon and Simon Whelan, maintained their advantage to the line. Usher IRC rider Colm Bracken was first home of the bunch two seconds later.

Olympic Games: Pro-Tibetan rights activists climbed onto a ledge above the entrance to the Chinese embassy in Washington yesterday and unfurled a banner protesting Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympics. Two members of Students for a Free Tibet climbed a ladder to a ledge over the main door of the building and hung the yellow banner saying "No Olympics for China until Tibet is Free!"

Hockey: The Irish under-18 and under-16 boys' and girls' squads will tune up against Scotland on June 30th-July 1st in preparation for their European Championship assignments in San Sebastian and Padua, respectively, next month. The boys will travel to Largs for their practice matches while the girls will play the Scottish sides in Belfast.

Tennis: Greg Rusedski starkly illustrated the two sides to his grass-court game in Nottingham yesterday as the British number two scuttled past Germany's Rainer Schuettler and into the third round of the Samsung Open. Rusedski made progress via two tie-breaks, his 7-6 4-6 7-6 win setting him up with a last eight meeting today with Martin Lee.